


Caught By the Taste of Your Kiss

by anisstaranise



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Law Enforcement, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, New York City
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 12:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8057083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anisstaranise/pseuds/anisstaranise
Summary: It’s new, this thing that Eddie and Iris share. Eddie doesn’t mind the rules in the least- in the short time of being with Iris, he’s come to learn there’s little he wouldn’t do for her.





	Caught By the Taste of Your Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> I love the "pretending that they're not dating" trope.
> 
> Title from **Backstreet Boys** 's " _Climbing The Walls_ ".

The closing door swallows the sounds of the low rumble of the double bass, the shrill peaks of the trumpet and the fast tinkling of piano keys as Eddie and Iris step out of the jazz bar and onto the New York City street, arms tangled around each other. The night is filled with the sounds of the city that’s thrumming with life; the din of far-away conversations, the police siren that wails in the distance, the purr of car engines driving by, their tires squelching on the road left wet from the evening’s rain.

But all the sounds of the night turn to white noise for Eddie. He’s only concerned with the sound of Iris’ lilting giggles vibrating against his skin as he kisses her languidly, never wanting to stop. Iris tangles her slender fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her body, kissing him deeper, her polished nails scratching at his scalp driving him mad with want.

“I know we said never weeknights-” Eddie breathes, voice heavy with desire, his hands moving to map out the span of Iris’ back, her arms, her hips. “-but let’s make an exception- just tonight.”

Iris looks up at him, eyes hooded with lust, pearly whites biting at her bottom lip as if to catch the smile that’s tugging at the corners of her mouth. They’re her tells and in them, Eddie finds his answer; Iris wants this, too- despite the rules they’ve set up when they started this thing between them.

“Okay,” she purrs before taking Eddie’s lips in hers again, hungrily this time, her movements void of any hesitation.

Eddie raises a hand to blindly flag a cab, almost tripping over his own feet as Iris tugs him closer- and closer still- by his skewed necktie, his light blue dress shirt under his long coat creased by Iris’ hugs, his lips never leaving Iris’.

He hears the gentle splash of a puddle as a cab pulls up to the curb but no sooner has the yellow car’s brakes hauled it to a stop, Iris’ phone rings, loud and intruding.

Iris releases Eddie’s lips rather reluctantly, a contrite sigh that leaves her chest matching his rueful chuckle. What deplorable timing.

“Yeah,” Iris answers the phone, her voice tight, not bothering to hide her irritation but he loves the way her body relaxes into his touch as he runs a hand down her back. “Okay. Meet you there.”

Eddie moves to open the door just as Iris tucks her phone back into her purse, fidgeting with the strap hanging over her shoulder, their intention of sharing the cab home together squandered the moment Iris had taken the call.

“Dinner tomorrow?” Iris asks.

“Definitely,” Eddie answers before indulgently stealing a kiss, all mouth and tongue. One for the road, he thinks, to last him the night and balm the ache that comes with missing Iris.

Iris bumps their noses together after breaking away from the kiss, eyes closed, a content smile on her lips that stutters Eddie’s heart. Her warm brown eyes find his blues before she silently moves to climb into the cab, letting their pinkies stay linked until the very last moment she has to close the door.

Eddie watches the cab drive away, a hand running through his hair made unruly mere moments ago by Iris’ tender fingers. There’s a wide smile on his lips as he makes his way to the nearest subway station, enjoying the little walk on a night like tonight; just him and the city, and the phantom feel of Iris’ touch in his hair, on his lips.

As much as he would have liked to be in a cab headed home to spend the night together, he and Iris have an understanding when it comes to their jobs; whenever work calls, it takes precedence. They don’t hold it against one another; work is work and they’re both passionate about their careers.

A draft swirls around him as Eddie turns to descend the steps to the subway stop, the biting chill of the previous rainfall riding on the edges of the breeze, making him shove his hands deeper into his coat pocket for warmth.

His phone rings, the shrill sound echoing off the walls of the underground station, the platform devoid of commuters save for a couple making out to a busker’s unfamiliar tunes. He knows who it is without having to glance at the caller ID.

“Thawne,” Eddie answers and waits for the person on the other end to disclose all the details.

Duty calls, he muses as he commits all the information to memory.

“I’m on my way,” he says as he climbs back up the stairs, pocketing his phone, his feet already taking him to the address he had been given.

 

.

 

Eddie weaves through a throng of beat cops creating a perimeter around the span of road, pulling on the silver chain that holds his badge over his head as he ducks under the yellow tape surrounding the crime scene.

“You’re late,” his captain’s voice booms ahead of him.

“By five minutes.”

“Late is late, Detective.”

“I walked,” Eddie says playfully with a chuckle just to irk his captain more.

And it works. He sees the irritation flash in the captain’s eyes, another reprimand ready to fall from his lips.

“What we got?” Eddie quickly says to change the subject, squatting next to a lifeless body on the asphalt ground covered by a thick, black sheet of liner, lifting one of its edges with the tip of his pen as to not contaminate any forensic evidence.

“Caucasian female, late twenties, single gunshot to the back of the head, execution style,” a voice not his captain’s answers, the cadence of it melodious- one he knows well.

Eddie looks up to find warm brown eyes, petite frame exuding confidence and authority.

“Thawne, you remember my daughter, Iris West,” his captain quips half-heartedly.

Eddie rises to his full height, ticking the pen into his palm.

“Agent West,” he greets, feigning unfamiliarity. “What brings the CJC down to rub shoulders with Homicide?”

“Play nice, Thawne,” Captain Joe West warns.

“We’re on the same team, Detective Thawne,” Iris says, her tone icy but there’s warmth in the way a small smile threatens to curl at the corners of her mouth, the facade of her indifference to his presence breaking slightly.

It’s a given that there’s no love lost between the New York Police Department and any division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation- particularly the Cross-Jurisdictional Command, who usually swoop in at the end of police investigations to claim credit for the NYPD’s hard work; a fact that makes falling for an agent of the CJC- who happened to be his captain’s daughter- a somewhat complicated matter.

It’s new, this thing that Eddie and Iris share- just a little over two months since working a homicide case that’s similar to the one they’re currently investigating. They had closed that case together and realized that they matched, in every sense of the word.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Eddie had asked boldly under the pretence of celebrating the closure of the case, offering a hand to Iris.

She had flashed that gorgeous smile of hers. “Make it two and I’m all yours,” she had teased and graciously accepted his hand.

And they had started dating shortly after.

From the beginning they both had established some ground rules;

To never let their relationship get in the way of their work.

To never spend the night on weeknights should their work demand their fullest attention.

To keep their relationship under wraps- especially from Joe West- for the time being to avoid any unwanted scrutiny from their peers.

Eddie doesn’t mind the rules in the least- in the short time of being with Iris, he’s come to learn there’s little he wouldn’t do for her. And he’s come to learn that what he feels for Iris feels a lot like love.

Nights spent together ended when the morning dawned and Eddie and Iris would set down different paths to their respective jobs. But at the end of the day, they would gravitate towards each other- always- as naturally as the ocean waves would gravitate towards the shore.

They don’t mind keeping things a secret, too happy being immersed in each other and enjoying this special thing they’ve carved out just for them.

So they keep up their pretences, the expected cold shoulders between an FBI agent and an NYPD detective. But when Iris passes the FBI tablet to show Eddie the victim’s details and their fingers brush ever so slightly, he feels the heat that shoots through his body. He knows Iris feels it, too, by the twinkling in her eyes that betray her crafted nonchalance.

And that alone convinces him that despite denying their feelings towards each other to the world, what they have, what they share is very real indeed.

\---END

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Comments welcomed.


End file.
